Supply Chain Management

(2nd Edition)

Chapter 3
Supply Chain Drivers and Obstacles

© 2004 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 3-1

 Outline
 Drivers of supply chain performance
 A framework for structuring drivers
 Facilities
 Inventory
 Transportation
 Information
 Obstacles to achieving fit

© 2004 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 3-2

 Drivers of Supply Chain Performance
 Facilities
– places where inventory is stored, assembled, or fabricated
– production sites and storage sites
 Inventory
– raw materials, WIP, finished goods within a supply chain
– inventory policies
 Transportation
– moving inventory from point to point in a supply chain
– combinations of transportation modes and routes
 Information
– data and analysis regarding inventory, transportation, facilities
throughout the supply chain
– potentially the biggest driver of supply chain performance

© 2004 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 3-3

 A Framework for
Structuring Drivers

Efficiency Responsiveness

Supply chain structure

Facilities Transportation Inventory Information

Drivers

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 Supply Chain Decisions:
Structuring Drivers

Strategy
(Design)

Planning

Operation

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 Facilities
 Role in the supply chain
– the “where” of the supply chain
– manufacturing or storage (warehouses)
 Role in the competitive strategy
– economies of scale (efficiency priority)
– larger number of smaller facilities (responsiveness priority)
 Example 3.1: Toyota and Honda
 Components of facilities decisions

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 Components of Facilities Decisions
 Location
– centralization (efficiency) vs. decentralization (responsiveness)
– other factors to consider (e.g., proximity to customers)
 Capacity (flexibility versus efficiency)
 Manufacturing methodology (product focused versus
process focused)
 Warehousing methodology (SKU storage, job lot
storage, cross-docking)
 Overall trade-off: Responsiveness versus efficiency

© 2004 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 3-7

 Inventory
 Role in the supply chain
 Role in the competitive strategy
 Components of inventory decisions

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 Inventory: Role in the Supply Chain
 Inventory exists because of a mismatch between supply
and demand
 Source of cost and influence on responsiveness
 Impact on
– material flow time: time elapsed between when material enters
the supply chain to when it exits the supply chain
– throughput
» rate at which sales to end consumers occur
» I = RT (Little’s Law)
» I = inventory; R = throughput; T = flow time
» Example
» Inventory and throughput are “synonymous” in a supply chain

© 2004 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 3-9

 Inventory: Role in Competitive
Strategy
 If responsiveness is a strategic competitive priority, a
firm can locate larger amounts of inventory closer to
customers
 If cost is more important, inventory can be reduced to
make the firm more efficient
 Trade-off
 Example 3.2 – Nordstrom

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 Components of Inventory
Decisions
 Cycle inventory
– Average amount of inventory used to satisfy demand between shipments
– Depends on lot size
 Safety inventory
– inventory held in case demand exceeds expectations
– costs of carrying too much inventory versus cost of losing sales
 Seasonal inventory
– inventory built up to counter predictable variability in demand
– cost of carrying additional inventory versus cost of flexible production
 Overall trade-off: Responsiveness versus efficiency
– more inventory: greater responsiveness but greater cost
– less inventory: lower cost but lower responsiveness

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 Transportation
 Role in the supply chain
 Role in the competitive strategy
 Components of transportation decisions

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 Transportation: Role in
the Supply Chain
 Moves the product between stages in the supply chain
 Impact on responsiveness and efficiency
 Faster transportation allows greater responsiveness
but lower efficiency
 Also affects inventory and facilities

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 Transportation:
Role in the Competitive Strategy
 If responsiveness is a strategic competitive priority,
then faster transportation modes can provide greater
responsiveness to customers who are willing to pay
for it
 Can also use slower transportation modes for
customers whose priority is price (cost)
 Can also consider both inventory and transportation to
find the right balance
 Example 3.3: Laura Ashley

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 Components of
Transportation Decisions
 Mode of transportation:
– air, truck, rail, ship, pipeline, electronic transportation
– vary in cost, speed, size of shipment, flexibility
 Route and network selection
– route: path along which a product is shipped
– network: collection of locations and routes
 In-house or outsource
 Overall trade-off: Responsiveness versus efficiency

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 Information
 Role in the supply chain
 Role in the competitive strategy
 Components of information decisions

© 2004 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 3-16

 Information: Role in
the Supply Chain
 The connection between the various stages in the
supply chain – allows coordination between stages
 Crucial to daily operation of each stage in a supply
chain – e.g., production scheduling, inventory levels

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 Information:
Role in the Competitive Strategy
 Allows supply chain to become more efficient and
more responsive at the same time (reduces the need
for a trade-off)
 Information technology
 What information is most valuable?
 Example 3.4: Andersen Windows
 Example 3.5: Dell

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 Components of Information
Decisions
 Push (MRP) versus pull (demand information
transmitted quickly throughout the supply chain)
 Coordination and information sharing
 Forecasting and aggregate planning
 Enabling technologies
– EDI
– Internet
– ERP systems
– Supply Chain Management software
 Overall trade-off: Responsiveness versus efficiency
© 2004 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 3-19
 Considerations for
Supply Chain Drivers
Driver Efficiency Responsiveness

Inventory Cost of holding Availability

Transportation Consolidation Speed

Facilities Consolidation / Proximity /

Dedicated Flexibility
Information What information is best suited for
each objective

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 Obstacles to Achieving
Strategic Fit
 Increasing variety of products
 Decreasing product life cycles
 Increasingly demanding customers
 Fragmentation of supply chain ownership
 Globalization
 Difficulty executing new strategies

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 Major Obstacles to Achieving Fit
 Multiple owners / incentives in a supply chain

Local optimization and lack of global fit

 Increasing product variety / shrinking life cycles /
customer fragmentation

Increasing implied uncertainty

© 2004 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 3-22

 Summary
 What are the major drivers of supply chain
performance?
 What is the role of each driver in creating strategic fit
between supply chain strategy and competitive strategy
(or between implied demand uncertainty and supply
chain responsiveness)?
 What are the major obstacles to achieving strategic fit?
 In the remainder of the course, we will learn how to
make decisions with respect to these drivers in order to
achieve strategic fit and surmount these obstacles
© 2004 Prentice-Hall, Inc. 3-23